Meet the Parents
by Undirected Passions
Summary: Parker and Hardison take a road trip to visit Nana. Feelings are revealed, antics ensue.   Nothing heavy. Pretzel  P/H  fluff. Short story.
1. Part I

A/N: This story has undoubtedly been done before, but this is my version of what would happen if Parker met Nana.

Disclaimer: LET'S GO STEAL A COPYRIGHT. No? Okay then, not mine.

**|L|E|V|E|R|A|G|E|**

First impressions only mattered when you were planning on sticking around, and that was a concept Parker was still getting used to. Staying stagnant wasn't exactly first nature to a thief like her. But then she'd found people that were worth it; then she'd found Hardison.

"Who will I be playing?" The question came suddenly.

"What's that, baby girl?"

"Who will I be playing?" Parker repeated.

Hardison frowned, reluctant to break his focus from the road. He hated to admit it, but the way to Nana's house had become less familiar after almost a year of delayed visits. "What do you mean?" He said finally.

"Alice White, Agent Hagen, Rose…"

Hardison frowned as Parker rattled off aliases. "You'll be _you_. You'll be perfect," he answered carefully, aware of her anxiety.

"But, what if…" Parker hesitated- something she rarely did, "what if she doesn't like _me_?"

She thought it'd be fun; meeting Hardison's foster mother, finding out where he came from. But that was before she put herself in the equation. That was before she cared.

"She'll love you," Hardison insisted. "I love you. She loves me," he added when she didn't respond, "she'll love you."

Parker fidgeted, even more uncomfortable than before the pep talk. Hardison had said he'd loved her before, so that didn't bother her- what bothered Parker was the fact that she couldn't see to say it back. "You missed the turn," was all that she could manage as she fiddled with the GPS.

"Shortcut," Hardison explained simply. He paused, trying to think of a way to get his point across. "Do you know how nervous I was about meeting Archie?"

"You were nervous?" Parker asked, though she had picked up on the amount of stuttering during that event.

"Of course I was! Dude's a badass international thief with an electric cane-" He smirked, remembering how effective that cane had been on Chaos, "and the world's coolest daughter."

Parker smiled at his obvious attempt to flatter her. "Archie said he approved of you," she mentioned.

The GPS dinged, signifying that they had approached their destination and Hardison shifted the car into park. "And if a guy like Archie approves of a geek like me, Nana will _love_ you."

Parker bit her lip, still not entirely convinced.

The hacker unsnapped his seat belt and leaned over the center console to kiss her on the forehead. "You'll do fine, mama," he promised.

With a deep breath and cautious confidence, Parker finally opened the door.

**|L|E|V|E|R|A|G|E|**

This is basically a two part one-shot (A two shot?), which is why it's so short. I'm putting the first part up here in an attempt to stop myself from giving up and deleting what I've written so far. I have little confidence when it comes to fanfiction- especially one of a show with such perfect characters.

Sorry for the crap grammar and story flow. I'm a big rusty at writing. Please review- if only to tell me how terribly cliché this is.

Peace,

UP


	2. Part II

Sorry it's late. Usual excuses- schoolwork, parrot hurt himself, etc.

Disclaimer: Still getting the team together.

**|L|E|V|E|R|A|G|E|**

To Parker, good foster parents were like mythical creatures. As a child, she'd built them up to such a point that she was almost disappointed with Nana's ordinariness. The woman standing in front of them appeared like any old woman- wrinkled skin, grey hair, floral print clothing. It was all rather anticlimactic.

Hardison, on the other hand, seemed very enthused by her presence as he practically scooped her up in a hug. Parker stood dumbly on the step for a moment before Nana pulled him away.

"Boy's always been a clingy one," Nana commented, her tone disapproving despite the fact that she was grinning ear to ear. "But I'm sure you know something about that."

It took Parker a second to realize that the comment was directed at her. Unsure how to respond, she could only offer a forced chuckle.

"Oh, Nana, this is Parker," Hardison introduced, eager to get the conversation moving along.

"Good to meet you ma'am," Parker greeted and extended a hand.

"Nana," Nana corrected, though she shook.

The trio finally stepped into the apartment, which was larger than it appeared from the outside and furnished rather lavishly. Trinkets from all over the world decorated the place, reminding Parker of a museum without the glass cases. "Your home is lovely," she remarked, "the vents are very open."

Hardison smiled, either from pride or humor- possibly both.

"I suppose they are," Nana said absentmindedly. She led them into the adjoining room, a combined living and dining area. "Alec, get the coffee," she ordered.

Hardison obeyed without as much as a word, which amused Parker. "Do you take sugar?" Nana questioned, turning towards the young woman.

"Always," Parker replied seriously. She actually took her coffee as hot chocolate, but everything she'd heard about Nana made Parker fear she'd seem weak. Personally, Parker found the idea of watching every little thing she said ridiculous, but Sophie's coaching had made her weary.

Nana's attentions seemed to be focused elsewhere anyway. "The good china, boy. Or have you forgotten your manners?" she scolded as Hardison fumbled with the dishes. She chuckled though, "Just when you think you got 'em trained, eh?"

Since she doubted that Hardison was actually trained to serve beverages, Parker took it as one of those rhetorical questions that she had so much trouble with.

Hardison handed Nana her coffee before setting the other two cups down on the coffee table adjacent to the brown corduroy love seat where Parker sat. As he joined her, Parker noticed that he'd added a bit of chocolate syrup to her drink. She offered him a surreptitious smile which he reciprocated.

If Nana noticed, she didn't mention it and all the secrecy began to make Parker feel a bit mischievous. "So how bad a kid was Alec?" she asked suddenly.

"Hey!" Hardison complained, sending Parker a mock betrayed look.

Parker smiled sweetly back.

Nana let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, he was a handful. Not a bad kid," she elaborated, "but stubborn as a mule."

"You aren't the best listener," Parker noted.

Hardison scoffed, though he was happy the two were getting along.

"Hey, I'm not saying a little spirit's a bad thing," Nana continued, "you did turn out best out of all the kids I raised."

Hardison grinned proudly. "Better than Doctor Tomas?" he asked with some amusement.

Nana waved him off. "Tomas is a dentist; he makes people smile pretty. What you do- whatever exactly it is- seems to really help people. Plus, he ain't got a girl like you."

Hardison beamed, though Parker wasn't exactly sure why; Nana's words seemed more like a statement to her than praise. "Is Tomas your son?" she asked.

Nana nodded. "Just like Alec. Brought him up from a toddler."

"Oh, so he's not your real son," Parker commented innocently.

"Of course he's my real son."

Nana was quiet for a second, which seemed to worry Hardison.

"I just mean that's he's not from your real family," Parker explained.

"I was better family to those kids than all of their no good blood relatives," Nana said coldly. "You better watch how you throw around that word real."

Her words made Parker feel small, and even more uncomfortable than she ever imagined she would be. What concerned her most was that she couldn't understand how she'd offended Hardison's Nana and why she seemed to be in trouble for it.

"I- restroom," was all Parker could come back with.

Nana pointed down the hallway without looking at her and Parker couldn't bear to look at Hardison. Parker felt like she had let him down, and she wasn't sure why or how. The only thing she was certain of was that if the situation could be salvaged, it could only be by one person.

**|L|E|V|E|R|A|G|E|**

So, I lied. It's a three parter. Or two with an intro- however you want to look at it. I would have just waited until I finished to submit, but I honestly don't know when I'll have time to write again so I'm just submitting what I have for now. Hope no one minds.

-U.P.


End file.
